In her latest film Apocalypse Kiss, actress Carmela Hayslett plays a young woman who is disconnected from the rest of the world; that feeling of isolation, admits Hayslett, is something she didn’t need to do a lot of research into.
What is an Apocalypse Kiss?
Aside from being the title of my new film… I think explaining the title would give too much away. The movie is a science-fiction thriller set in the not-so-distant future where one man (Michael Berryman) and his corporation governs the entire planet which is believed to be in a pre-apocalyptic phase where the sun is going to burn out within the next 100 years. This arouses a lot of desperation and hopelessness throughout the movie. The story boils down to a notorious serial killer named Adrian (D.C. Douglas) The Red Harvest Killer who enjoys killing for notoriety and the detective who unsuccessfully keeps trying to hunt him down. My character, Katia, and her girlfriend Gladys (Tammy Jean) float through town and end up leaving some massacred bodies along the way. They get credited as Red Harvest killings and Adrian gets offended. He gets so offended and desperate that he ends up helping his detective counterpart catch him. It’s a fun story. It’s almost a killer vs. killer story except my character has no idea or any interest that Red Harvest is competing with her.
The film is a little Blade Runner, a little Strange Days… how would you describe it?
That sounds about right. I would also compare the movie to Richard Stanley‘s film “” from 1990. I think if there was any movie to compare Apocalypse Kiss to it would be Hardware… except we don’t have a vengeful robot in this film. I know Christian, as a director, is very inspired by Bladerunner and Hardware. They are also two of his all-time favorite films. Hardware has the same desperate and hopeless feel that we have in Apocalypse Kiss.
How much like your character were you? What do you think you were asked to play that particular part?
It’s funny because I am absolutely nothing like my character but out of every character I’ve ever played in my career so far… Katia was the one I understood the most. I think as an actor it’s good to try to relate to your character but once you find that part of the character that relates to you that’s where the inspiration comes from. I related to Katia’s disconnect between herself and the rest of the world. I know what it’s like to feel isolated from the rest of the world, to be a loner, to be anti-social, and to have completely embraced it. That was pretty much my entire adolescence. So, I understood Katia’s disconnect with people very well. She’s this gypsy nomad that goes through town to town like a ghost. She doesn’t want you to see her and you should be glad if you don’t see her. As for other things, I can rationalise her actions up to a certain point. The girl has this calm and cool exterior but she is 100 percent a wild animal inside. She stalks her prey, she only attacks if she’s provoked, and if she’s provoked she’ll not only attack but she’ll finish you. She was born and bred to be a survivor. She just sometimes takes the surviving thing way too far.
How was it working with such legendary horror vets as Tom Atkins and Michael Berryman?
I did not get to work with Michael Berryman while he was doing this movie but I have met him before and he’s an awesome guy. He’s very friendly and knowledgeable about what he does. I remember him talking to my husband about how understanding multiple facets of filmmaking helped him understand how to be an actor. It does make a lot of sense and I respected that about him because I study multiple facets of filmmaking. He’s right, it does help to understand the big picture of making a film.
Tom Atkins is a very night and straight-forward guy. You can tell he’s been doing what he does for awhile because he’s just as professional off camera as he is on camera. He makes the effort to talk to everyone on set and to remember names. The whole crew really enjoyed having him.
You mentioned your husband; director Christian Grillo. Do you take direction well from your husband? Or is that a question for him?
That’s probably a question for him. He seems very happy with my performance so I guess I do take direction well from him. Even when I’m not acting I’m always on set with him doing some sort of odd job. We usually stay away from each other set because we’re both in business mode and are too busy to talk to each other. When he’s behind the camera and I’m in front of it I think there’s a good working relationship between us.
Did you guys show “Apocalypse Kiss” at any festivals, prior to getting a distributor? What was the trick in finding the film a home?
We did not submit Apocalypse Kiss to any festivals prior to distribution. As a part of the production company I can say that we usually choose to concentrate more on getting distro than we do on festivals. Christian isn’t a fan of festivals anyway. The trick to finding any Independent film a home is to have some names in there to immediately spark interest and to make the absolute best product you possibly can.
It’d be remiss to ask you what your favorite horror movie is…
I have so many favorites so I boil it down to what film actually scared the living crap out of me. That would be the original . I saw it when I was a kid and I never forgot it. It scared the hell out of me and I absolutely loved it. It’s that and anything with possessed dolls in it… Child’s Play, Puppet Master, if it has some sort possessed doll in it I automatically love it. Killer doll movies are ridiculous and awesome.
Obviously, we know you from Carnival of Horrors. Would you like to give it a plug? Tell us where the readers can see it?
Sure! You can watch our webisodes for free on at and you can like us on facebook at http:///roxsytylercoh
Apocalypse Kiss is on DVD in April
